topic Re: Corporate American Express Rejection in Credit Cards

Corporate American Express Rejection

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 15:54:42 GMT

Hi Everybody,

After a year of unemployment, I filed for Chapter 7. After two months of filing, I found a great job with a Fortune 500 Company. My issue is that they require all expenses charged on a Corporate Amex.

I followed instructions and completed a short one page app. I was declined. Any suggestions on what should I do now? I was really nervous as they were going through my background check if the low credit score was going to be an impediment. But I started work and received my first paycheck. I plan on calling Amex to see if there is anything that I can do but not really draw attention.

Thanks!

Re: Corporate American Express Rejection

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 16:27:27 GMT

Do you have to use the credit card right now for your job?

My job requires a US Bank corporate card and I was approved for it shortly after BK 7 and 13 about 8 years ago and I still have it. The difference may lie in the fact that my good payment history isn't reflected on my credit report. It will only show up IF I pay late. So I get no credit boost at all from my corporate card. If you are going to need to use the card soon, you may have to tell your company what happened and see if they can pull some strings. If you truly don't need it right now, then just wait 6 months to a year and try to reapply. I only have to use my card for travel and I travel only 1-2 times per year. The rest of the expenses are reimbursements from using your own money. You can ask if they will reimburse you from using your own money for mileage and other small items but I believe it is a requirement to use the corporate card for all travel expenses. So if you need to travel soon, you will have to bite the bullet and tell the appropriate person to see what they can do.

Re: Corporate American Express Rejection

Rhaeny — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 16:42:34 GMT

Hmmm...I guess everyone's situation is different. I filed as well in 2007 but they still gave me a corporate Amex. I was so nervous about the approval process because I felt like you do now, but they approved it. I have had it every since. Could it be that they have the type of card that holds you contractually responsible?? I thought that I have heard about corporate cards that an individual is responsible for. My card doesn't even report so I think if I ever defaulted then my employer would have to pay it. Oh, did you burn them in the bk?

Re: Corporate American Express Rejection

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 16:49:44 GMT

What to do really depends on your employer, what is wrong on the report, and if a credit report was pulled prior to employment.

Do you know if your employer did a credit check on you (a soft-pull on your credit reports from some agency)? If they did, then they know what's there, and it's safe to ask for their advice/help.

Otherwise, depending how conservative the employer is (Fortune 500 bank might be an example) it's probably not such a great idea to tell them of credit issues. On the other hand, if you need to use the card soon, you might not have an option. And, the finance group may have already got a report about the denial.

If you don't need is straight away, I agree with the advice to wait and try again later, while working on trying to improve your credit score.

I'm assuming that your credit is pretty bad, as corporate accounts don't have the same exposure for Amex as personal ones, as they are guaranteed by your company.

Re: Corporate American Express Rejection

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 16:57:25 GMT

Rhaeny, I am pretty sure it will report if you are late. Don't be late on your reimbursements. My company said that late fees are to be paid by the employee.

Re: Corporate American Express Rejection

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 17:24:16 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Rhaeny, I am pretty sure it will report if you are late. Don't be late on your reimbursements. My company said that late fees are to be paid by the employee.

Yes, and my employer has written policies that if you are more than X (maybe 90 days) late on the corporate card, your employment will be terminated.

Re: Corporate American Express Rejection

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 17:35:58 GMT

bs6054, I believe the termination policy is the same with my employer too. And we aren't allowed to purchase personal items using the card either, just business expenses. Charging a new computer for yourself and paying it off on time can also get you terminated. Corporations are usually really strict when it comes to using their corporate card so OP, be sure to read up on corporate policy and comply 100%.

Re: Corporate American Express Rejection

chnceit — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 18:28:27 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hi Everybody,

After a year of unemployment, I filed for Chapter 7. After two months of filing, I found a great job with a Fortune 500 Company. My issue is that they require all expenses charged on a Corporate Amex.

I followed instructions and completed a short one page app. I was declined. Any suggestions on what should I do now? I was really nervous as they were going through my background check if the low credit score was going to be an impediment. But I started work and received my first paycheck. I plan on calling Amex to see if there is anything that I can do but not really draw attention.

Thanks!

The company I work for uses Corp AMEX, have your boss call AMEX to push your application through.

Re: Corporate American Express Rejection

Rhaeny — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 18:37:34 GMT

Thanks but I don't EVER pay them late and as long as I am financially able to I won't....LOL!!! They are on my list of cards to get in the next year or so I work very hard and diligently at monitoring and nurturing my credit .

We've had some employees charging personal stuff on their cards and not paying for months and the company took it out of their paycheck. You should have heard this one guy screaming about that it was HIS card and that was not fair blah, blah, blah. In his case it was over $3K. I just sat there and looked at him. Didn't make sense to say anything to him that made sense because he was obviously out of his mind. I mean HE made the charges on a corp card and didn't think anything would come of it if he didn't pay it....what a looney tune! Needless to say, he is not employed with us anymore.

Re: Corporate American Express Rejection

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 19:37:12 GMT

Rhaeny, some people are completely clueless about credit and that guy at your job is a prime example. Wow is all I have to say!

Re: Corporate American Express Rejection

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 20:00:56 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Rhaeny, some people are completely clueless about credit and that guy at your job is a prime example. Wow is all I have to say!

Be fair. It's HIS card, so he should be able to charge what he wants, and it's also a CORPORATE card, so they should pay for all the charges. Sounds pretty simple, what's the problem!

Re: Corporate American Express Rejection

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 20:42:36 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Rhaeny, some people are completely clueless about credit and that guy at your job is a prime example. Wow is all I have to say!
Be fair. It's HIS card, so he should be able to charge what he wants, and it's also a CORPORATE card, so they should pay for all the charges. Sounds pretty simple, what's the problem!

LOL

Re: Corporate American Express Rejection

pdog661 — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 22:07:59 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Rhaeny, I am pretty sure it will report if you are late. Don't be late on your reimbursements. My company said that late fees are to be paid by the employee.

It may depend on your company, but I got my cancelled for non-payment and it did not report on my CRA files. :-( I did not pay it for 120 days due to a dispute over late fees, and I was being difficult!

I was approved for a new account on the day I pif.

Sometimes the program administrator declines the card from the companies side. Our administrator sets the limts for the cards in our company not AMEX. AMEX sets the hard limit, but she will reduce if she views the risk to high to extend.

Re: Corporate American Express Rejection

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 22:33:35 GMT

My company does not allow personal charges on corporate cards. It is not his card. And then he had the nerve to pay over time versus pay in full. If it was his card, he would still have his job LOL!

Re: Corporate American Express Rejection

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 22:44:14 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hi Everybody,

After a year of unemployment, I filed for Chapter 7. After two months of filing, I found a great job with a Fortune 500 Company. My issue is that they require all expenses charged on a Corporate Amex.

I followed instructions and completed a short one page app. I was declined. Any suggestions on what should I do now? I was really nervous as they were going through my background check if the low credit score was going to be an impediment. But I started work and received my first paycheck. I plan on calling Amex to see if there is anything that I can do but not really draw attention.

Thanks!

Not sure if this applys to your company, but i know that many employment contracts will state that if you are unable to obtain or maintain a Corporate charge card you will be terminated or offer resended if you haven't started work yet.

Before worrying, I'd check to see if there is any sort of clause like that in your employment contract/offer agreement.

In the mean time, try and recon with amex.

Re: Corporate American Express Rejection

Rhaeny — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 23:35:46 GMT

Yea that's a good point ccnewcc, try to recon directly with Amex. I think the point that the OP is making is that he doesn't want to ruffle any feathers with his new job by letting them know about his previous credit issues. So try one of the backdoor numbers and give them a call and tell them that you need this card for business purposes and it could possibly affect your employment by not having one. Sometimes you just have to beg and plead but if it comes through for you then its all for the best.

Re: Corporate American Express Rejection

sjt — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 00:19:56 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hi Everybody,

After a year of unemployment, I filed for Chapter 7. After two months of filing, I found a great job with a Fortune 500 Company. My issue is that they require all expenses charged on a Corporate Amex.

I followed instructions and completed a short one page app. I was declined. Any suggestions on what should I do now? I was really nervous as they were going through my background check if the low credit score was going to be an impediment. But I started work and received my first paycheck. I plan on calling Amex to see if there is anything that I can do but not really draw attention.

Thanks!

You company's Amex Card Administrator will be notified of the decline and has the option to guaranty the card account and have a card issued to you. When they do this, they usally place a spending limit.

For corporate cards, they usally pull a soft and check to see if you had a defaulted Amex Card.

Re: Corporate American Express Rejection

sjt — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 00:21:02 GMT

@Rhaeny wrote:
Yea that's a good point ccnewcc, try to recon directly with Amex. I think the point that the OP is making is that he doesn't want to ruffle any feathers with his new job by letting them know about his previous credit issues. So try one of the backdoor numbers and give them a call and tell them that you need this card for business purposes and it could possibly affect your employment by not having one. Sometimes you just have to beg and plead but if it comes through for you then its all for the best.

I think if credit was an issue with their employer they would have pulled a CR prior to the employment offer.

Re: Corporate American Express Rejection

sjt — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 00:23:54 GMT

@Rhaeny wrote:
Hmmm...I guess everyone's situation is different. I filed as well in 2007 but they still gave me a corporate Amex. I was so nervous about the approval process because I felt like you do now, but they approved it. I have had it every since. Could it be that they have the type of card that holds you contractually responsible?? I thought that I have heard about corporate cards that an individual is responsible for. My card doesn't even report so I think if I ever defaulted then my employer would have to pay it. Oh, did you burn them in the bk?

For Corporate Amex Card, they only pull a soft and check to see if you have defaulted on them in the past. The prior default is the deal breaker.

Re: Corporate American Express Rejection

Rhaeny — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 00:31:39 GMT

@sjt wrote:
@Rhaeny wrote:
Hmmm...I guess everyone's situation is different. I filed as well in 2007 but they still gave me a corporate Amex. I was so nervous about the approval process because I felt like you do now, but they approved it. I have had it every since. Could it be that they have the type of card that holds you contractually responsible?? I thought that I have heard about corporate cards that an individual is responsible for. My card doesn't even report so I think if I ever defaulted then my employer would have to pay it. Oh, did you burn them in the bk?
For Corporate Amex Card, they only pull a soft and check to see if you have defaulted on them in the past. The prior default is the deal breaker.

Is that the only deal breaker? Nothing else credit wise?